Excerpt from a photography essay (2017).
When I was 16 years old, my parents bought me a canon camera to take with me on a school trip to Morocco with my Arabic class. While traveling, I hardly put down the camera, determined to capture the architecture and vibrant culture i was immersed in. When I returned home and sorted through these photographs, I noticed a pattern: entryways.
Without realizing it, my eyes were drawn to various doorways and arches that I passed by and through within each city. Little did I know that these photographs were the beginning of a project that would change the way I see and experience space to this day.
After this trip, I let my curiosity lead me and continued to photograph entryways in the different cities that I visited. Not only did these entryways frame an image, but they helped capture the spatial context of the landscapes and cityscapes that I was photographing.
I photographed house doors, neighborhood gateways, and entrances to religious buildings, intrigued by how an exterior could imply or mask what was happening on their other side. Entryways, although small structural components, actually carried great amounts of history and told stories of the people who had passed through them before me.
When I took a photo, I would ask myself: why is this here? How is it different from other doorways around it? Is it enforcing a division or bridging separation?
Although it may seem peripheral, the study of entryways can actually tell us a lot about a space. When it comes to actually doors, not only are they physical markers of the separation between the public and private realms but they also represent hierarchies of power depending on to whom they are made open.
doors are indicators of accessibility and have the ability to invite in or turn away different types of people. A closed door might symbolize exclusivity while an open door that allows you to look inside indicates inclusivity. A door located at the top of a flight of stairs excludes the disabled while those with ramps welcome all. Doors with keys imply ownership and privacy while those that push open act more as a boundary between a space and that street.
When it comes to arches and gateways, there is less distinction between each side which means that these structures must be built in cooperation with their physical surroundings in order to communicate purpose. A gateway separating a modern city from a historic district might embody the aesthetic differences between one side and the other, using architectural trends to convey intention.
Entryways also affect social behavior by acting as physical indications for change. Sometimes it is intentional: before entering a religious space, we might take the time to remove our shoes or cover our head. Other times may be subconscious: when we arrive home from work, we might loosen our tie or change our posture due a sense of emotional relief.
Both of these instances indicate moments of transition, both physical and emotional, from one space to another and one mindset to another. this shows just how much social behavior is shaped by the built environment.
In my work,I find it enlightening to pay attention to how I move through a space and how that changes my behavior.
Am I entering in the same place that I am exiting?
Am I allowed to enter in the same location as others?
Why did I choose to pass through here as opposed to somewhere else?
I have pushed myself beyond just photographing these entryways to try to think critically about the spaces as a whole. I know that the designers and planners intended for me to enter and experience their creation in a certain way. By trying to identify that intention, I find my spatial experiences more fulfilling than if I had passed through without thinking to look back.
